Mirage of Faded Pearls
by NessaMoon
Summary: He kept walking, always seeing her in front of him, wanting nothing more than to be with her.  Yet she always disappeared like the others, fading away, leaving only the pain of loss behind.  NaruHina
1. Pearls

Shoot! *is depressed* I wanted to submit this for Naruto's birthday today, but it seems like my time ran out. T_T Can this be considered for Naruto's birthday when it's after midnight on the East Coast since there are other places where it's not midnight yet? I've been working on this one for awhile, but had no time to do any editing yesterday. I spent all day doing editing today, too!

This is a two-shot. I'll post the second and last chapter next week! As the author note, says, I came up with this using various prompts provided by the NaruHina FC over at the Narutofan Forums. Scar, Pearl, Fear and Homesick, however, since I could only choose one, I singled out Pearl. I actually enjoyed writing this, which might say something about my mental sanity, I suppose! XD Hope you enjoy it, too!

**Title:** Mirage of Faded Pearls  
**Genre:** Drama  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** He kept walking, always seeing her in front of him, wanting nothing more than to be with her. Yet she always disappeared like the others, fading away, leaving only the pain of loss behind.  
**Pairings:** NaruHina  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Prompted by a lot of words, but my main, chosen, prompt is Pearl!

* * *

He clutched a nearby tree to keep himself up right. Common sense told him he should find a place to camp for the night. He was tired and exhausted, literally almost asleep on his feet from walking all day. Such fatigue would surely do him in if he were attacked again. His wounds had not healed and likely would not until he got back to the village to see a medic. The injuries he sustained were bad, he knew that, but yet he continued to move all day, barely stopping for rest.

Blood matted the back of his blond spiky hair. His orange and black jumpsuit was torn; the right sleeve missing, the front ripped to shreds, holes from where he had been stabbed plagued his pants and his left sleeve and the edges worn from walking for so long

He had to get home to Konoha.

Looking back, it had been a mistake to stop in that village. He had not thought he had let anything slip when he casually mentioned to a shopkeeper he was delivering something. He never saw the ambush coming, much less the exploding tags laid as a trap. He could not remember anything before the explosion, however, he cared little for that. He escaped and the package he carried remained with him. He had not failed his mission yet.

_I have to get back to the village..._ He moved away from the tree, stumbling slightly over to the next one, blood dripping from his shoulder to the ground. _...Back...to the village..._ To the village...to his team...to his friends... He had to get back...

He had lost track of time since the ambush. The trip back to the village should have taken five days and the trap had occurred two days into his journey back. How long had he been knocked unconscious? How long had he walked? No answer came to mind.

Only one thing echoed in his head. Return to the village. Return to his friends, his team. They had to be worried about him. If he was late to return at his expected time, they would worry. She would worry...

_I've got to...keep going..._ He could see them...all of his friends, his team, her...in his mind's eye. _Keep going...don't stop...just a little bit more..._

He kept walking, kept moving, from tree to tree, pausing only to catch his breath briefly before faltering over to the next. He had to return to the village, no matter how injured he was, he had to return.

To his team. To his friends.

To Hinata.

_I'm coming, Hinata_, thought Naruto, as he paused for a moment, leaning against a tree. His blue eyes, faded from weariness, stared up into the cloudy sky that peeked into the leafy canopy of the forest. _I'm coming...everyone...Sasuke...Sakura-chan...Hinata..._

_I'm coming home!_

_oOo_oOo_

Sakura strolled down the village, dressed in her ninja gear; a sleeveless red top, black shorts with a pink skirt around them and knee length black ninja shoes, holding a folder close to her chest, however her mind was not on the contents within. Instead, she was thinking about her teammate, Naruto.

She had just left Sasuke and Kakashi at their training field, Sasuke not at all pleased Naruto had not shown up. Their teammate had been due back from his mission today, or so he stated in his last communication, but now it was nearly nightfall with no Naruto in sight.

"_He's likely found some ramen bar in some village somewhere,"_ voiced Sasuke, angrily, when Sakura had voiced her concern. "_You know him; once he's got ramen on his mind, he'll forget everything he's doing. Idiot."_

Kakashi had taken a casual approach to the situation, reminding both of them that the mission required Naruto to travel to the Land of Gems, a country that would take even the fastest ninja eight days to make. _"Naruto's just miscalculated his travel time some. Give it a bit more time. I'm sure he's okay. This is Naruto, after all."_

She sighed, trying to find reassurance in Sasuke and her sensei's words. _I guess I shouldn't be worried,_ she tried to convince herself. _It's only been a day, after all. Naruto can take care of himself and it's just a simple retrieval mission; go, get the item and return. That's it. Nothing can go wrong with that, right?_

She sighed, pushing aside a loose strain of pink hair that had freed itself from her red Leaf headband. The village continued to bustle around her in the last hours of daylight, oblivious to when Naruto was suppose to return. Tsunade had received a notice from him five days ago that he had obtained the necklace Lady Shijimi had commissioned and was now returning to the village. He had said he should be back within those five days. Sakura vividly remembered the fuss Tsunade and Shizune made; the latter worrying Naruto would overwork himself and the former rolling her eyes at his eagerness and wondered if he would even take a break during his journey.

Sakura had scoffed at his claim, too. Sure, the mission was simple in nature, but as Kakashi had mentioned, even the fastest ninja needed to take in consideration time to rest and eat. Some times, Naruto's Kyuubi-enhanced stamina astounded her.

_I'm just worrying for nothing, _she decided. _The trip would take time, even if it were Lee-kun and Gai-sensei. Naruto was just bragging as usual or over thinking how long it would take him._ Nodding, feeling reassured of her teammate's condition, she kept walking.

As she approached her destination, Ichiraku Ramen, she noticed someone standing nearby and despite her previous attempt to reassure herself of Naruto's safety, the ill feelings returned full blast at seeing Hinata's waiting form. _She's waiting for him..._ she thought, sadly. Taking one of the free stools, Sakura put on a huge smile she hoped reached her green eyes and not show the turmoil over Naruto's lateness. "Hi, Hinata!"

The dark-haired Hyuuga heiress turned her head, looking somewhat startled as if her mind had been far away from reality. "Oh, Sakura-san." Hinata perked up quickly and joined her on one of the empty stools, straightening her purple long pants, jacket and dusting off the white sleeves. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

Teuchi quickly took their orders before Sakura could respond. As he went to prepare, Sakura pointed to the folder she had set down on the table. "Tsunade-shishou gave me an assignment to do. I've been busy all day and I haven't had anything since lunch, so I thought I would get something to eat while I looked over it."

Hinata nodded understandably. "I see. I heard a team came back this week in very bad shape. Ino-san has said she's been busy with that as well."

Sakura nodded, sighing as she did so. The team in question had been escorting a food convey to a village that had been struck by a flood. Unfortunately, halfway there, they were attacked by a group of bandits. Normally, that would not have been a problem for even a well-experienced genin, however, the bandits had in their possession something far more dangerous to a ninja. "Yeah, that's what has kept us occupied for the past four days and it's the assignment Tsunade-shishou gave me."

Hinata frowned, glancing to the folder and back to Sakura. "Were they hurt that badly? I thought they were attacked by bandits, but surely, they wouldn't be that injured from such a fight?"

"Ah, well, that's the thing..." said Sakura, shaking her head. She flipped open the file, figuring telling someone would not hurt. She had not been instructed not to tell anyone and this case was especially troublesome to ninja. "The team were beat up pretty badly, but that was only after the bandits managed to inject them with some chemical." She took out a piece of paper and slide it over to Hinata for her to read. Her friend took it and quickly started absorbing the information.

The chemical the bandits used managed to put a ninja's chakra system in complete disarray, leaving them unable to collect the necessary chakra to preform even the simplest jutsu. It left the ninja without the ability to mold chakra at all. According to their intelligence, the Hidden Rock Village originally produced the chemical to combat the Leaf during the Third World War, however, after realizing such a weapon could be used against them, production of it ceased. The Tsuchikage had thought it had been destroyed, but apparently one scientist hid his stock and became a missing-nin.

Now, it seemed the scientist had resurfaced among a group of bandits and was producing the chemical for them freely. And that was leading the bandits to attack ninja teams carrying valuable goods.

Hinata's eyes widened as she reached the end of the report. "That's awful!" she cried, as Sakura took the paper and placed it back into her folder. "So the ninja team with the convey had their chakra network disabled?"

"Right," comfirmed Sakura. "It took them by surprise and gave the bandits the opening they needed. It didn't help matters that the bandits had laid traps for them as well. Thankfully, since the convey just contained food, nothing was stolen and the thieves went on their way without doing much else."

Sakura was grateful for that. The injuries the team sustained would be healed in a few weeks and the food managed to reach the village in need of it safely. The bandits could have done much worse and the ninja involved lay in the hospital now, healthy overall. They did not suffer from any of the side effects of the chemical like hallucinations, but they still lacked the ability to access their chakra.

However, that did not mean other villages had fared the same. "Yesterday, Gaara-kun reported some of his ninja have been attacked by these bandits and so has the Mist village. They've had some things stolen by the bandits, so finding a antidote for it has become essential. Tsunade-shishou has assigned me the task in developing one."

Teuchi placed two bowls of ramen in front of them, which broke off the conversation for a moment as they broke their chopsticks and chimed, "Itadakimasu!" together. "That sounds like a problem," stated Hinata with concern. Then she frowned and gazed into her ramen bowl. "But now that you've said this, I'm worried about Naruto-kun's safety. I was told he would be back today, only..." she trailed off, staring down the way he surely would have come had he returned.

At first, Sakura did not answer. Instead, she, too, gazed into her ramen, her earlier feelings over Naruto's lateness came back with full force. "I'm sure he's fine." She knew her teammate would not want to see Hinata worrying over him, so she attempted to reassure her, even if she felt differently. "You know how he is. He's likely either found a ramen stand and lost track of time," she suggested, using Sasuke's belief on where he was, "or he just failed to remember to add sleeping and eating to his timetable." She laughed. "Knowing Naruto, he'll run and run until he's ready to collapse and then he'll realize he needs to rest and eat up before he can go on!"

"Hmm," muttered Teuchi as he washed a bowl, "well, I'm hoping that last bit is true, Sakura-san. If Naruto's managed to find a ramen stand that keeps him there for five days, I may end up losing my best customer!"

Teuchi and Sakura laughed at the thought and a small smile began to appear on Hinata's face. "You're right," she said, after a moment. "Naruto-kun must be fine. He does tend to overwork himself at times." Her smile grew as she took a bit of her ramen. "We've been dating for two years now and Naruto-kun said he wanted to celebrate after he returned."

Sakura snorted, struggling to hold back her laughter. Naruto seemed to take the whole dating a bit far at times, finding ways to celebrate even the smallest details like the first day he and Hinata bumped into each other at the academy, which was the first time he noticed her, or the day he beat Neji for her during their first Chuunin exam. He even got a present for Neji, too, since he had been involved. Hearing Naruto wanting to celebrate two years of dating should not be a surprised to Sakura, but yet she managed to be.

However, Hinata's words reassured her that Naruto would arrive soon. He would never miss something like this. If he said he would return to celebrate his and Hinata's anniversary, then he would.

That was how he worked, after all. His precious people mattered so much to him.

"Yeah," said Sakura, fondly. "I'm sure he will."

The two kunoichi continued to eat their supper, Sakura working on her case as she did so with Hinata's input at various stages, waiting for Naruto to return.

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto leaned against the wall of the cave he had found as rain came down outside, carefully not touching the rock with the back of his head. The storm that came suddenly was not a strong one and, even if it were, Naruto would have kept going regardless of the conditions. Instead of doing that, however, he sat inside a cave with a fire crackling nearby to keep himself warm to prevent himself from growing ill.

_This is annoying,_ he thought, staring into the fire.

"**Get over it, Brat,"** said the Kyuubi within his mind. **"I'm not too thrilled with this situation, either."**

Feeling the Fox's anger rippling through him, Naruto sighed. He supposed the Fox would be very bothered by all of this, which likely explained why he was so willing to help. "Well..." he started, "what's the damage report, Kyuubi?"

The fox made a growling noise, but otherwise said nothing else. Instead, Naruto felt the demon's chakra rise, like it was examining his body, but not mixed in with his own chakra. In fact, the demonic energy recoiled away from his natural chakra as if burned. **"You're in bad shape, Brat. You've got a shallow chest wound that could get worse if not taken care of. Your right shoulder's so ripped apart, I'm surprised the bone is still intact. Another shallow wound on your head, back and sides, I bet you hit a rock after being thrown from that explosion. Stab wounds in your legs, arms and your other shoulder."**

He growled and withdrew the chakra. **"No way you're healing on your own. If you didn't have this accursed drug in your system, you would have at least healed the worst of the injuries by the time you got back to the village."**

Naruto did not respond, but pondered over how he got into this situation to begin with. His mission started out very simple: Lady Shijimi, the wife of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, commissioned a necklace to be made in the Land of Gems. His job was to go and collect the finished product and return it to the village for Shijimi to pick up. Simple.

After having seen the very elaborate piece, Naruto got the idea of getting Hinata a necklace for the two year anniversary of dating. He darted into villages briefly, checking out local shops for the perfect gift. He finally found one: a very nice and simple pearl necklace. The pearls were a faint purple, which Naruto liked since it was a color Hinata was fond of.

When he bought the necklace, he had noticed a few people standing outside, lounging around, looking bored. The way they grouped together right next to the window of the shop, Naruto had originally thought they might be thieves and kept an eye on them. The shopkeeper, as he wrapped the pearl necklace up, asked him where he was headed and Naruto mentioned he was on a mission and returning home.

At the time, he had not thought much of his causal comment. Nothing concerning his mission had been revealed and at most, he thought his comment would scare the possible thieves from robbing the kind shopkeeper blind. Even as he left, he created a shadow clone to follow them and make sure they would not set foot into the jewelry shop.

Nothing had happened, to his relief. The information he gained from the clone showed the thieves meeting up with their boss, telling him of a potential _traveling_ target with valuable goods. It did not occur to Naruto that he would be the target. And as much as he wanted to take them down himself, he had a mission to take of, so his clone reported the thieves to a local officer and popped out of existence.

_That was my mistake, _thought Naruto, cringing. _Maybe I should have taken them out there!_

**"Idiot!"** roared the Kyuubi. **"Do you even remember what happened or did the explosion mess with your memory that badly? You would likely be in this shape even if you attacked them there."**

"At least I would have been in a village," retorted Naruto, angrily. He winced at a slight pain in his shoulder. "I would have gotten help then; someone could have sent help to the village." He thought of Hinata, who no doubt would be waiting for him. They were going to celebrate their two year dating anniversary. Suddenly, he felt a surge of longing to be in Konoha, among his friends, team and girlfriend.

He hated being alone, injured, in a cave hiding from the rain, not knowing how far he was from home.

The fox snorted at his explanation. **"Or some pathetic human would have gotten in your way and gotten killed."** Naruto flinched at the thought of someone innocent getting hurt or killed, which caused Kyuubi to smirk. **"See? Now you understand. Not that it matters in the long run. You would have still been late to that stupid dating thing with that female of yours, regardless."**

Naruto said nothing again, merely stared into the fire, trying to ignore Kyuubi's taunting. He never liked to admit the fox was right about some things. This happened to be one of them. The thieves' ambush had been a surprise; he realized he had been surrounded, but shocked when he saw it composed of the same group of thieves he followed in the village with the jewelry shop.

The bandits had appeared to have been dumbfounded by who their target was, too. They approached him cautiously and overdid some of their attacks. Naruto managed to deal with half of them before two things happened at once: a bandit he had been fighting stabbed him twice, once with a kunai and another with a syringe filled with a greenish-yellow liquid while another managed to set off a series of exploding tags. The last thing he remembered was the thieves running away from the blasts and him creating a series of shadow clones.

And then nothing. When he had awakened to the world again, he could not recognize his location. A shadow clone must have dragged him away from the area he was attacked. He had found himself injured, bleeding and, worst of all, unable to access his chakra. Any of his chakra.

Kyuubi's chakra, his own natural chakra; he could access none of it.

He could still feel it; it remained there, but it felt chaotic, in disarray and out of reach. He had never felt chakra this way. He did not even dare try access senjutsu, the sage chakra. What with his control erratic as it was, he feared he would turn into a frog if he tried.

Sighing, he let his head rest on the rock and gaze outward to the slowly stopping rain, frowning as each drop hit the ground. Next to him, he reached into his pack, opened a dark purple velvet case and pulled out a pearl necklace.

"_Naruto-kun...you'll come back soon, right?"_ Hinata's voice echoed into his mind on the day he left on his mission.

"_Of course, I will! And when I return, we'll celebrate our two year anniversary!"_

She had giggled at his response. _"We don't have to do anything to celebrate, you know. Just being with you is enough for me... So...come back safetly, Naruto-kun."_

He clutched the pearls, the light purple stones reminding him of Hinata's eyes, filled with light and happiness. Holding them closer to his chest as the memory threatened to make the water in his eyes spill over, he whispered, "I promise you, Hinata. I'll come home. I'm sorry I'll be injured when I do, but I will come home. I promise."

Restoring the necklace to its proper place in the velvet case, Naruto pushed himself up from the ground and put out his camp fire. Once the embers extinguished completely, he began to limp out of the cave.

"**Brat! What are you doing?"**

Naruto held his shoulder, trying to stay focused and ignore the pain. "Have to get back home. My injuries won't get healed if I just sit around," he replied, grunting. "...Got to keep moving."

Kyuubi stayed silent for a little while. Naruto could feel his chakra shifting around, almost like he was thinking. **"Fine...stubborn brat. Never will listen to reason. Just remember; it's your body you're tearing up. Just don't kill us both here."**

Keeping his mind on walking, trying to overlook the agonizing pain, Naruto merely nodded. He knew the risks, but he also knew he would not get healed if he sat alone in a cave. He had to get back home, complete his mission and, more importantly, return home to his friends and his team.

_I promised Hinata...I promised her I would come home soon. And I'll never break a promise to her ever..._

_oOo_oOo_

Even through the sky was clear, blue with no clouds, Hinata still felt dismal as if a stormy day had ruined her afternoon plans. She approached the front gates of Konoha with a heavy heart, trying to remain calm, even through she felt anything but.

Nine days. Naruto had not been heard from in nine days. Even Tsunade had started to get worried over his whereabouts. It would be fine if he needed the extra time, but to not contact anyone was unusual.

That was why Hinata walked up to the guard station Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo manned. Even through she was busy with clan business since her father was away, even through someone would have told her if there had been any news, her mind would net let her rest until she knew Naruto had come home.

"Hello, Kotetsu-san, Izumo-san," said Hinata, greeting the two shinobi in a somber voice.

Not even taking the time to straighten his Chuunin vest and uniform, Kotetsu smiled softly as he stood up from his seat. Next to him, the similar-clad Izumo gazed at the floor, frowning, as if he did not want to meet Hinata's face. Kotetsu, however, looked like he was trying to hide how worried he was, too. "Hinata-sama...I'm sorry to tell you, but Naruto hasn't returned."

"I see." she said, lowering her head. The answer only caused more worry to stir within her. _Naruto-kun...what's happened? Where are you?_

Kotetsu must have sensed her distress as his arms waving at her to calm her down and he quickly added, "Don't worry, Hinata-sama. I'm sure he'll return soon."

Izumo nodded, but still kept his face away. "Yeah. Naruto's a strong kid. He'll make it back. Whatever's keeping him, he won't let it hold him back for long."

A small smile grew on her face despite that she did not feel doing so. The two of them were trying to cheer her up. She had been coming here for the past two days, so naturally, they would worry, not only for Naruto, but her as well. "Thank you," she muttered softly. "You're right; Naruto-kun will come back soon."

"You've not been the only one coming around," commented Kotetsu, pointing up to a nearby building when Hinata expressed her surprise. She followed where he directed at and noticed a dark figure sitting on the nearest rooftop to the front gate. "I really hope Naruto returns quickly; otherwise, I think the whole village will start to worry."

Nodding, Hinata thanked the both of them again and quickly made her way to the rooftop. The person, dressed in dark blue pants, a shirt with a high collar and emblem on the back with a long, straight, sword laying next to him, gave little indication that they noticed her as she sat down right next to them. A small wind started to pick up as the two of them stared at the gate, waiting for one person to come through it.

After a few moments of silence, Hinata closed her eyes, glancing downward. "Is everything all right with you, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha kept his eyes on the gate, remaining quiet, but then he grunted and lowered his head. "Ah. I suppose." He made a face as he looked up. "Soon as that idiot walks through, I'm going to pummel him for being late. Bad enough Kakashi does it on purpose, having another teammate popping up late will just be frustrating."

She could not help but smile at the response. Knowing Naruto, he would pay back Sasuke and the situation would spiral into a brawl between the two. She worried sometimes over their fights, but knew their friendship was very strong and this was his way of worrying.

"What about you?" She looked up to see Sasuke looking at her. "I thought you were in charge of the Hyuuga clan while your father was away. What are you doing here?"

Hinata bit her lip, anxiously, swinging her legs and hitting the stone wall. "I just wanted to check to see if Naruto-kun had arrived back yet. I can't help it. I'm really worried about him." Crossing her arms, rubbing her elbows, she tried to calm herself down. Her eyes felt like they were going to overflow with tears. "I suppose he is fine and I'm worrying for nothing, but I just can't help myself."

Sasuke said nothing. His black eyes continued to stare at her as she rubbed her eyes to prevent the tears from flowing down her cheeks. "But what about you? Sakura-san told me yesterday you're supposed to be investigating the bandits with that chakra blocking chemical."

"Hn." Sasuke turned around, his eyes closed as if he felt like he had gotten caught doing something. "I'm on a break. Thought I would take it here." He shook his head, sighing as he did so. "Sakura's getting worried. She's not able to concentrate on that chemical assignment the Hokage gave her anymore. Kakashi thinks something's definitely wrong; Naruto said he would be back in five days. That might be overdoing it, but he's certainly capable of getting back here before the normal eight."

Hinata nodded, listlessly, agreeing with the statement. However, this conclusion got them nowhere closer to finding out what happened to Naruto. She glanced over at the gate again, her eyes watering with tears. "I wish - I wish we could go find him." Her voice trembled and she gripped her pants to hold on to the last sheds of self-restraint. "It would be a lot easier, you know, instead of - instead of just sitting around, waiting."

Instead of answering, Sasuke tightened his fists, looking frustrated. "I want to..." he said, in a tight voice. "I want to go find him...but...it's only been six months since I've been off probation. Naruto would kill me if I left the village without permission."

Suddenly, startling Hinata as he did so, he got up and started to walk away from her. She followed him, trying to figure out what he was up to. "Sasuke-kun?"

He looked back, his face as impassive as before. "If we're going to mount a search, then getting permission is likely the best option. We should go see the Hokage."

Nodding wordlessly, she got up to follow him to Hokage Tower, finally feeling a spark of determination instead sadness within her heart.

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto laid on the ground, face down, breathing heavily and sweating as if the sun bore down on him even during this dark night. He wanted to continue on, but his body felt completely drained, the pain of his injuries too much to bear.

He still had no idea where he was; having yet to locate a village or even a road yet, just never ending forest wherever he stepped. A forest that hide him from his destination...

_Hinata...Everyone...can't...stay here..._

In the back of his mind, Kyuubi snorted. **"Brat, you've over done it. Just lie still. You're not dying yet and I believe I sense some humans somewhere close. Someone will find you."**

But Naruto barely registered the Fox's words. All he could think about was home, his friends, his team, her; they were the only things in his mind. He could almost hear them calling him...telling him to keep moving, to not give up just yet...almost...

"_Naruto..."_

The sound of that voice caused him to stiffen and his eyes to widen. He tried to look right in front of him, not daring to believe what he had heard.

Standing a bit away from him, surrounded by a light glow, stood... _No way...Sasuke? Sakura-chan? Hinata!_

"**What?"**

Naruto started to get up, his expression dazed, ignoring the pain, the fever, ignoring the protests of his tenant locked away in his stomach. He staggered over to where they all stood, smiling, calling out to him...waiting for him to come.

He reached out his hand to Hinata, feeling desperate to touch her...only to see his hand pass through her and she quickly faded away...

"Huh...?" He muttered weakly. He gazed at his hand, wondering what had happened. Hinata had been there...right? "Wha..."

The fox growled as he realized what was going on. **"You're hallucinating! There's been no one in front of you ever! Get a grip, Brat, or we'll both end up dead."**

However, Naruto could no longer hear the Nine-Tails. His mind was lost in a fog; no longer able to hear the noise of the night or see the darkness of the forest. All his mind could focus on was one thing. All he could see and hear was one thing.

"_Naruto..."_

His breath catching in his throat, Naruto looked up at the sound of his name. His eyes widened at the sight before him again. Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, all stood far ahead of him, surrounded by an eerie glow, but this time they were not alone. They were joined by others; Sai, Kakashi, Tsunade, Iruka, Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino of Team 10, Kiba and Shino, Lee, Neji and Tenten in Team Gai. All his friends stood there, smiling at him, calling out his name...

"_Naruto-kun..."_

He started to move forward again, his eyes fixated on his friends, on Hinata. "Hina - ta! Hinata!"

"**No!"** roared the Fox. **"No 'Hinata!' Don't you get it, you idiot? There's no one there!"**

But Naruto kept moving, like an automaton, toward the figures in the distance. He no longer felt the blinding pain of his injuries or heard the shouts of Kyuubi warning him it was all an illusion or cared where he was going. He just kept advancing forward.

It did not matter that every time he finally managed to grab Sasuke's shoulder, he faded away. Or when he tried to reach for Sakura, she ceased to exist. He just kept moving when they reappeared far ahead, hoping the next chance he got, it would be real. His mind could not cope with the fact that it was not.

So whenever he reached out to touch Hinata's cheek, he hoped this time, it would be real, but every time his hand slipped through and she faded out of existence, reappearing further and further away.

* * *

I apologize for not writing out the action scene. Those types of scenes aren't my best work. Even if I can think of a good one, writing is another matter entirely. It just ends up so bad, I would never consider posting it. Naruto's injuries are something I carefully considered since I don't know anything medical-wise. So all his wounds except his shoulder are shallow or not life-threatening yet, but still painful. He had to be injured enough to stall his progress to get back to Konoha. And with no Kyuubi's chakra to heal him, well, he's out of luck until he gets to a hospital. Which is kind of the point of this fic, I guess!

Naruto's in some serious trouble! No one kill me for putting Naruto through all that! I'm sure it'll come out all right in the end! Will it?

Thanks for reading! - NessaMoon


	2. Fear

Well, this is the last part of my fic. Hope the wait wasn't too bad. I do think some people aren't going to like the outcome of this. I guess I better start hiding now, huh? XD

I'm able to dedicate this chapter to another prompt. I'm sort of glad for this since the word really fits it. I even use it near the end. So while the first chapter was pearl and was kind of key plot point in how Naruto got into the situation in the first place, the final chapter will be fear. Like I said, given the content of this chapter, it's the perfect word for it.

Guess that's it! Enjoy! *starts running*

**Title:** Mirage of Faded Pearls  
**Genre:** Drama  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** He kept walking, always seeing her in front of him, wanting nothing more than to be with her. Yet she always disappeared like the others, fading away, leaving only the pain of loss behind.  
**Pairings:** NaruHina  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Prompted by a lot of words, but my final choice for this is Fear!

* * *

It had been a day since Sasuke and Hinata went to Tsunade in order to mount a search for Naruto and now they stood, with Kakashi behind them, at the front gates of Konoha, listening to her give orders. And they were miserable about it.

Tsunade glared at her team, her expression serious, but her eyes failing to hide her worry over Naruto. "Your mission," she started, her voice fierce, "is to find Naruto. His last report was in the Land of Gems. He stated within it that he should be back in five days. However, he's not only gone over that time, but also the expected length of a journey to that country without checking in once."

Hinata fidgeted with her jacket, gazing downward and biting her lip. Fresh worry came over her. Tsunade sighed, crossing her arms and lowering her head. "I'm assuming here," she continued, "that he's gotten into some trouble and is unable to return home. That's likely the best case scenario. Worst case is he's gotten injured or something even more severe."

Hearing her say that caused Hinata to wince. _Please, Naruto-kun...just be safe...please be okay..._ she pleaded in her head, biting her lip harder to keep herself from crying.

"Do the four of you understand all this?" finished Tsunade, raising her head to meet the eyes of the chosen team.

All four of them nodded at once. "We won't fail you, Hokage-sama!" yelled Rock Lee, his green clad form saluting her.

"Yeah, we'll find him. Right, Akamaru?" asked Kiba, wearing a black jacket and pants, looking down at the giant white dog at his side. The animal barked in response as if agreeing with his partner.

Ino readjusted her pack and medical supplies on her short purple shirt and skirt. "Right and don't worry if he's wounded or anything. If he's in any trouble, I'll patch him right up." Then she lowered her head and grumbled. "That is if that fox healing of his hasn't kicked in already."

Neji, dressed in a white shirt with long sleeves, a dark gray cloth around his waist and his white, long pants, glanced toward Hinata, who met his eyes in a silent plea to return successful. "Yes. I'm sure we'll find him rather quickly. We'll send word the moment we do. That's a promise."

Tsunade nodded as if satisfied. Sasuke, however, growled under his breath. "Don't see why it couldn't have been us," he muttered.

"I need you here, Sasuke," responded the Hokage. "You're focusing on investigating and locating those bandits, so they can be captured. Sakura's working on an antidote for that chemical they're using to disable chakra networks and I believe Hinata's in charge of the Hyuuga clan while her father's away." Tsunade gave the three of them a glance as they shuffled awkwardly under the reminder of their responsibilities. "Not that I wasn't willing to send any one of you; a missing teammate or beloved isn't something I take lightly, but there are other obligations for you to complete here."

Sasuke looked down at the ground, his face contorted as if conflicted. Glancing away, Sakura's eyes appeared to be filling with tears. Hinata kept her eyes on Neji, her hands trembling as she held them to keep them steady. "Just..." she started, but looked away before she could finish, "Just bring him home safe, Neji-niisan."

Her cousin nodded, his expression solemn. "I will do that, Hinata-sama."

"Yes!" chimed in Lee. "We'll find him, Hinata-san, Sasuke-kun, Sakura-san!" He punched his left arm in the air and started out. "Let us go and find our missing comrade!"

Ino rolled her eyes at his eagerness. "All right, we're going, we're going." Behind her, Kiba followed confidently with Akamaru right next to him. With another quick nod at Hinata and the other two remaining behind, Neji trailed after them.

The five of them watched the team go. Sakura wrung her hands. "I still wish we were the ones going," she said softly. "Naruto's a member of Team 7. I almost feel like we're abandoning him."

"I realize this is hard," spoke Kakashi for the first time. Hinata glanced behind her, seeing the jounin's hands on the shoulders of his team. "But we're not abandoning him; we're relying and believing in others to bring him back. If we were just leaving this be, not sending anyone to find him, I would see your point. However, that's not the case and I'm positive we can rely on them."

Tsunade nodded. "I'm sorry about not choosing any of you, but realize I choose who I did for good reasons. Kiba and Akamaru for tracking, obviously, Neji to observe the area once Naruto's located, Ino in case he needs medical attention and Lee in the event they run into those bandits. Those thieves and the missing-nin scientist prepare extensively before going up against ninja teams, so he's the perfect response to them and that chakra drug of theirs until an antidote is created." She shook her head as she walked over and stood next to Sakura. "I don't think they'll need the protection. The bandits usually only go after targets they know carry something of value, but I rather be cautious given how troublesome the situation has become."

Blinking suddenly, the words triggered a memory within Hinata. Her worried eyes meet Sakura's and knew they were thinking of the same thing. "Could the bandits..." started Hinata, unable to hide her concern, "could they have...?"

Sakura bit her lip as she turned to the open gate. "The bandits couldn't have gone after Naruto...could they?" she asked, finishing up Hinata's thought.

"It's possible," responded Kakashi, causing the two girls to stiffen in response, "however, I find it unlikely. Naruto's mission isn't one that's easily detectable. You can put a necklace in your pack and no one would ever realize you're carrying one. Even if they found out Naruto's carrying something they want, once they discovered who their target is, they wouldn't make an attempt." He chuckled as if somewhat amused. "Naruto has quite a reputation, after all. According to our intelligence, the bandits study their targets before they attack, so if they found out about the necklace, they would realize who's carrying it as well, right Sasuke?"

Both Hinata and Sakura relaxed at the reassurance as Sasuke slowly nodded, but his eyes narrowed as he looked outside the gate with an almost sad expression. "It's not that I don't trust them. But it's like Sakura said; Naruto's part of Team 7. We're..." He trailed off and nodded over to Hinata. "Even she's got more of a reason to go; she's almost like us...you know..." He trailed off again, his eye twitching.

Kakashi appeared to have perceived the underlying tone in Sasuke's vague statement. "I understand, but Ino, Kiba, Neji and Lee are Naruto's friends, too. And," he continued, his one remaining eye closed in a smile like gesture, "no friend is going to leave another behind, correct?"

Hinata could not help but smile at Kakashi's attempt to cheer them up. Sasuke and Sakura even managed to relax a little, through a worried look remained in their faces. _We're trusting in them, but we can't help but worrying,_ she thought as she stared at the fading figures of the search team.

_We just want Naruto to return_, she thought, holding her hands up in prayer, her eyes filling with tears. Tsunade and Sakura put their hands on her shoulders, rubbing them in an attempt to reassure her. _Oh, Naruto-kun...I just want you back...safe and sound...Naruto-kun..._

_oOo_oOo_

Once again, just like all the other times, Hinata faded away. Naruto stared at his hand, blankly, as if it were diseased and that was the cause behind his friends to disappear like that. _Why...? I just...want them to stay..._

"_Naruto-kun..."_

He looked up and, as before, all his friends stood far away, glowing, a bit more washed out due to the daylight hour, but still there. His hand falling, he stared at them with a dazed expression. "Gotta move..." he muttered. "My...friends..."

Naruto took a clumsy step forward...and then his vision of everyone was blocked by four dark human-shaped blobs and one animal shaped one.

"Naruto...!"

Deep within the seal, the Kyuubi, having given up on talking to Naruto, finally returned to the front of his cell. **"Well, well, finally some ninja to help the insane Brat. About time!"**

Still not hearing the fox, Naruto blinked at the four shapes in front of him and took a step back, uncertainty and confusion filling his mind. Who were these people? And how did they know his name?

"Whoa!" yelled one of them. Next to him, the animal whined. "He's a mess! What happened to you? Is he...is he all right, Ino? Why isn't the fox's chakra healing like before?"

"**Stupid seal," **grumbled the Kyuubi. **"I could tell them the whole delightful story of how my chakra got blocked."** Instead, he continued to watch the proceedings occurring in the outside world. **"Now if they would be so kind to tackle the Brat and take us to a hospital..."**

_Ino?_ thought Naruto. But that could not possibly be her; she stood over with his friends, right next to Sakura. He could see her through the human shaped blobs right now, smiling along with the others, waiting for him to come. _Ino's...not in front of me...she's over there...with the others..._

"I - I don't know," responded the Ino impostor, her voice sounding oddly fragile. "I think - no..." Her voice changed, becoming stronger and more confident. "...I'm going to have to exam him; his shoulder looks like to be the worst of it. Lee, Kiba, help him down. I'll try to heal most of the injuries before we take him back."

As the two blobs called Lee and Kiba moved forward, Naruto moved backwards, not wanting to let these people near him. _Lee and Kiba? No...they're over there...with the others...not in front of me..._

"Naruto-kun?" said one of them, possibly the Lee impostor, concerned. "Please. You're very injured. You must let us help you. We're trying to help."

But Naruto refused to listen. He kept backing up, his blue eyes darting back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. _Genjutsu? Try to release..._ Closing his eyes, he put his hands together and tried to shut down and raise his chakra to free himself of the illusion.

"**Oh...now he thinks it's an illusion!"** Kyuubi growled. **"Why don't they just tackle him already. It's not like damaging him more would be any concern. He's lived this long."**

"What's he doing?" asked the Kiba impostor, worriedly.

"I'm not sure. Is he dispelling a genjutsu?" replied the unnamed blob, uneasily. "I had best check this out first."

Naruto blinked, opening his eyes to find the five blobs still around. _Didn't work...why?_

The blob that was checking on him appeared to be shocked. "Neji!" yelled the Lee impostor. "What are you seeing?"

_Neji? No...over there...next to Tenten and Hinata...Hinata..._

"His chakra! It's...I can't explain it. It's like his chakra is in compete disarray. There's no possibly way for him to use it in that condition. How did he...end up like...?"

Naruto's eyes darted around, trying to figure out a way out of this mess. If he could not break the genjutsu, was it possible there was not one? Except he was not the best at such techniques anyway, so perhaps he could...

"In disarray?" inquired the Ino impostor, no longer sounding as confident, but more distressed. "You mean like he's under a genjutsu?"

"That could explain why he's not recognizing us," muttered the Kiba one, his voice disquiet.

"Sasuke..." muttered Naruto, causing all five blobs to turn toward him. The Sharingan could dispel genjutsu, so if he got to Sasuke, if he managed to get there and his friends did not disappear again, then he could cancel the genjutsu! "Got to..."

"Huh? What's he...?"

Naruto broke out into a staggering run, startling the blobs. He breathed heavily, not feeling the pain he was putting himself under. He just kept focusing on Sasuke, hoping that this time, he would not disappear like all the others. He needed his friend right now, to help him fend off the genjutsu. _Don't disappear! Don't! Be real this time!_ He reached out to his teammate. "Don't disappear, Sasuke!"

Naruto touched his shoulder...and all his friends faded away...again.

His face dissolved into bewilderment as he fell to the ground. "No...why..."

The Ino impostor shrieked and the blobs descended on him en masse. "Oh, goodness! Kiba, Lee! Turn him over easily. I don't want to aggravate that chest wound any more. We might have to hold him down, so stand by if necessary."

"_Naruto..."_

He managed to look in the direction of the voice as two of the blobs tried to turn him over onto his back. He blinked, seeing once again, all of his friends come back, faded out as usual, waiting for him to reach them so far away. Even through they remained so distant from him, he reached out his hand, hoping he could perhaps manage to make it, touch them, just so he would know...that they were real...

"There's no foreign chakra within him! He isn't under a genjutsu!"

"Not a genjutsu? Then...he's hallucinating!"

"**Finally! About time one of them figured it out!"** Kyuubi growled and laid on the floor of his cell, content that Naruto would finally be treated and things would go back to normal. **"Never thought I would be this grateful to some small human insects..."**

_No... Can't...give up..._ At once, Naruto started struggling, trying to fight his way out and to his friends. Whoever these four blobs were, he would not let them win. If he was ever to make it back to his team and friends, he had to fight.

To make it back to Hinata, he would do anything...

"Hold him!" ordered the Ino imposter. The other blobs tried to hold him down, but he did everything he could to stop them. Kicking, hitting and tried to crawl away from them. "I said hold him!"

"We're trying! I don't want to hurt him when he's like this! You think this is easy?"

"Well, try harder, Kiba, because he's hurting himself more! I'm going give him some mild anesthesia, so we can handle this better."

"I said we're trying! Next time, I'll do the medical treatment and you hold him down!"

In spite of Naruto's constant struggle, the three blobs finally managed to make him still. Only his hand stretched outward toward his friends remained free. "No..." he muttered, holding out for one of them to come to him and help him. "No...mustn't give...up... Sasuke... Sakura-ch...an... Hinata...must...get..."

Suddenly, a brief pinprick of pain erupted on his left shoulder and darkness began to nibble at the edge of his eyes. Before him, the image of his friends began to fade. _No! Come back! Come back!_ "Come...back...! Don't...leave...me..."

Worried mutters above him broke out just as the smiling faces of his friends dissolved entirely, leaving Naruto with a sense of loss he had not felt in a long time. His friends were gone? He tried to move, but he could no longer lift his arms or legs. He was trapped where he was, staring into the nothingness with four strangers having captured him.

"No..." The darkness began to envelop his entire sight. The voices of the four blobs waned until he could no longer hear them. Exhaustion descended upon him and he felt his eyelids fall. "No..." _Just...let me...see...them...one more...time..._

Naruto's outstretched hand fell limp and he fell into the darkness, knowing nothing more than a longing to be with his precious people, to be with his comrades and his team with Sasuke and Sakura and to be with her again...Hinata.

_oOo_oOo_

She raced along the rooftops, frantically trying to reach them before they got to the hospital. Hinata desperately wanting to see him before then. She had tore out of the Hyuuga compound so quickly, the elders barely had a chance to say anything when she had gotten word that Neji and his team had return with Naruto.

The message never detailed his condition; just merely saying the six of them had arrived. Such information was not enough to satisfy her. She needed to see Naruto with her own eyes.

Leaping off a tall building down to a smaller one, she was joined by two others. Without saying anything, the three continued moving to where they could feel their friends heading toward the hospital. Sasuke and Sakura only paid her a slight glance and nod as they tore through Konoha.

Hinata felt some worry. _I can't feel Naruto-kun at all. I hope he's okay..._

It was not long before they noticed they were closing in on a silent crowd of people, which happened to be close to where they could feel Neji, Ino, Kiba, Akamaru and Lee. Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata glanced at each other and the same thought passed through their heads as well as a small tear escaping Hinata's eye.

If a crowd of villagers had quietly gathered around the team to search for Naruto, then they likely meant they were concerned and if that happened to be true...then Naruto must be injured.

The three of them quickened their pace.

_Naruto-kun..._ thought Hinata, as she darted from rooftop to rooftop to the location the crowd had gathered, _please! Just be okay!_

Finally, Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata had gotten to them, found an opening and dropped down to the ground. Now they tried to make their way through the crowd. "Excuse us!" said Sakura, harshly, annoyed as she carefully tried to lead them through.

"Sorry, excuse us," muttered Hinata to someone they passed by. Sasuke said very little, only twitching every so often at their slow progress, however, once the villagers realized who was trying to get through, they unexpectedly parted for them to come through.

And for them to see Naruto lying in a wooden stretcher carried by Neji and Lee.

Rushing forward, both Sakura and Hinata shouted out Naruto's name, followed closely by Sasuke who gazed at his rival and teammate with a angry glare as if he wanted to know who had done this to him.

Hinata looked at her boyfriend, taking in his bandaged appearance. His clothes ripped to sheds, his head, chest and entire right shoulder were wrapped up with his arm in a sling and small bandages covered various parts of his body. She felt tears escaping; she had no idea he would come back this wounded!

Sakura grabbed Ino's shoulder and started spouting off questions. "What happened to him, Ino? Was he like this when you found him? What's his status? How bad are his wounds? What type of treatment did you give him before you moved him?"

"Sakura!" exclaimed Ino in a tired and sad voice. "Maybe this should wait until we get to the hosptial?"

Sasuke had his Sharingan out, examining Naruto with it. "His chakra...he's not being healed by the Fox's chakra..." he muttered, confounded.

Neji and Lee had stopped, both giving the three newcomers a forlorn look. Holding her hands up to her mouth, Hinata got up closer, staring down at Naruto's motionless figure, barely noticing Kiba and Akamaru as the two attempted to comfort her. "Oh, Naruto-kun!" she whispered, no longer able to keep the tears inside anymore at seeing how hurt he was.

Naruto's eyes started to flutter. "Hina..." he muttered so softly, she could barely hear it.

The entire procession gasped, Ino leaping in closer opposite of Hinata, her eyes wide open in utter shock. "But...how? He wasn't suppose to wake up now!"

"Did you give him an incorrect dose?" asked Sakura who had moved right next to her.

As Ino shook her head, Naruto took his unbandaged hand and shakily raised it up, his expression uncertain. Hinata got in closer, hoping her presence would reassure him that he would be fine now. "It's - it's o - okay," she said, her voice choking up. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. You're home."

His hand touched her cheek and Hinata took it, holding it, letting him feel her, not only to comfort him, but also herself...that Naruto was finally home. And then his face broke out into a smile. "Yo - u eal...real..."

Sakura stopped talking to Ino. Sasuke broke out of studying his teammate's condition. The two of them stared at their teammate, startled by his words. Hinata blinked, feeling confused. Real? _Did he think we were an illusion, genjutsu or something?_

Naruto took his hand away and Hinata, starting to get really worried now, followed him as he opened up his back pack. Pulling out a velvet purple case, he opened it and brought out a string of pearls. "Here..." he said as he held the necklace for her.

Gawking at them and unsure what exactly to do, she grasped his hand again, now holding the necklace. "Naruto-kun...?"

"Got...for...date...uh..." His hand slipped through her fingers, leaving the jewelry behind as his eyes closed, his head limped to the side, relapsing back into his unconscious state.

At once, Ino took charge. "All right, we've got to move. Tsunade-sama and Shizune are waiting for us and we have to make sure he's still unconscious, so we can operate. We can't afford any more delays." With a serious expression, she turned to a very stunned Sakura. "We'll meet the rest of you at the hospital. Sorry, but there's not a lot of information I can give you right now. If you want, Kiba can stay and will fill you in."

Hinata, still holding onto the pearls, only managed to just see Neji's sympathetic look as he and the others continued onward, only Kiba and Akamaru hanging back, still attempting to console Hinata. She barely managed to hear the crowd around her muttering sadly or felt Sakura and Sasuke come up to her, the former close to tears while the latter tried to calm her by putting his hand on her shoulder.

She fell to her knees, clutching the necklace close to her chest, crying for a multitude of reasons. Crying over Naruto being wounded badly, how he had been thinking of her even in an unconscious state, how his mind was still on their date he promised to have once he returned and he had come home, intact and alive.

She just cried, letting Sakura comfort her, letting Sasuke stand next to her, letting Kiba whisper everything would be all right to her. Not thinking of anything, but how Naruto had smiled when he realized she was near, whispering almost to himself, "...eal...real..." as if he had thought she had been a figment of his imagination...

_oOo_oOo_

Outside the window of the hospital, the wind blew, rustling the trees filled with healthy green leaves. The sun shined brilliantly onto everyone who ventured out, from the birds that fluttered about in the sky to the villagers who went about their day working or training. It was certainly a day that anyone would want to be out in.

Except for the patients in the hospital denied release by the Hokage.

"Ow!"

"Naruto!" growled Sakura, glaring at her teammate as she straightened the bandage. "If you keep moving like this, the wrapping is going to pinch you more."

Sighing, Naruto attempted to keep still. It had been three weeks since his mission to retrieve Lady Shijimi's necklace or so he had been told. He had only been awake for the past five days, which was enough for him to beg Tsunade to release him. All his minor injuries had been healed, his major ones were in the progress of healing and he had access to not only his chakra, but also Kyuubi's, for the most part, anyway. And small stuff like that could be easily fixed outside of a hospital, right?

Apparently, not. _I really hate hospitals_, whined Naruto, in his head, so he would not be chastised by Sakura or Tsunade again. Everything about a hospital irked him; from the odd smell of sterilized rooms to the blue-white hospital clothes he had to wear.

At the edge of his bed, Sasuke smirked. "Naruto can't stay still. You're better off telling a rock to stop moving." The Uchiha failed to flinch as his teammate directed as much killing intent as he could at him. "Not to mention, better at listening, too."

Naruto glared at his rival in return. "Yeah...go ahead, Sasuke. I'll remember this next you're in the hospital. Get fidgety much anytime you're near one?"

Sasuke blinked, immediately tightened his previously twitching hand into a fist and proceeded to scowl. "What did you say, you idiot?"

Naruto was about to retort when he felt the tell-tale sign of killing intent right next to him. Successfully scared into submission, he slowly turned around, wide eyed, at Tsunade's furious form. "Naruto!" she growled. "You're supposed to be resting! Not fighting with Sasuke!" She toned down a bit, turning her gaze toward the other offender involved. "I will not have a fight breaking out here, not with a patient of mine, understood?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto muttered a barely audible, "Understood..."

Kakashi looked fairly amused at the entire scene, much to Naruto's displeasure. Seeing the situation as amusing did not fit with his mood at the moment, despite what his sensei may believed. "Well," chimed in the silver haired jounin, his one eye closed as his way of smiling, "it's good to see things back to normal, right?"

The Hokage threw him an exasperated look. "I just don't want Naruto overexcited. Trying to prevent that is already like an S-class mission. Other distractions helping to incite him does not help. Why do you think I didn't allow any visitors before today?"

Sakura sighed, tiredly, as she finished up with Naruto's bandages. The blond future Hokage restrained groaning at the reminder that he had not seen many of his friends other than Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura for the past five days. Many times he had argued over the ban with her, but had been shot down every time until today. He still failed to see the need of keeping him.

His sensei shrugged his shoulders. "I had been wondering why you kept people from seeing him," mused Kakashi. "I figured because his injuries were very severe. When will you be releasing him, in that case?"

Tsunade nodded, returning to making notes of Naruto's improving status. "At the end of the month. I know that sounds extreme," she added as Kakashi startled and Naruto almost choked on air, "but I'll have an assignment for Team 7 then. I want to make sure Naruto doesn't over do it and end up in the hospital again."

The mention of another mission perked him up, but the last bit brought him back down. "You don't have any faith in me at all, Old Lady," moaned Naruto, resting his chin onto his knees.

Sakura put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. "Of course not. Do you have any idea what you've gone through? Do you have any idea how worried everyone got? Between the your injuries that couldn't heal because the Kyuubi's charka was blocked, which only got worse because you kept walking, exposure you suffered in the wilderness because you hardly took shelter, we had to keep you unconscious while we healed you." Again, she shook her head and walked around to give her notes to Tsunade. "You'll get to walk around at some point, but until the month is up, you're staying inside."

In the back of his mind, the Kyuubi snorted, as it laid in the front of his cell, taking pleasure in his container's suffering. **"Pink haired Brat has a major point, Brat,"** he said, obvious laughter hiding in his voice. **"Hospitals can't nearly be as bad as you think. At least, you'll eventually get to walk around. Ungrateful brat..."**

_Still doesn't make much sense to me_, thought Naruto, keeping his month shut and eyes firmly glued to the surroundings outside lest he get another lecture. He did soften at the mention of how worried he made everyone. Upsetting his precious people was something he hated.

Kakashi nodded in understanding, however. "I see..." he said and then his eye closed as he smiled, "I suppose that means you're going to be very healthy when you finally leave here, eh, Naruto?"

Lowering his head, all Naruto could feel was his defeat by everyone in the room. Healthy or not, it did not change the fact that he hated hospitals, but it seemed complaining about it produced more trouble. "Yeah," he mumbled, "I guess..."

Seemingly satisfied by his apparently humbled response, Tsunade beamed. "Glad you're thinking sense for once. Like I said, I want you healthy for the mission. Your team, as well as Team 8, 10 and Team Gai, are going after those bandits." At once, a tense feeling descended upon the room. Kakashi grew serious while Sakura wrung her hands, her face twisting angrily. Sasuke's black eyes hardened, his hands shaking as if in anticipation for the fight, and Naruto felt his defeated form change into a determined, resolute one.

Getting a chance to go after those bandits again was a desire Naruto had been waiting for since he awoke.

Nodding once, the Hokage took note of their expressions and continued, "Sakura's antidote should be finalized by then, so each of you will have a few doses in case you get injected with the chemical. In such a scenario, Lee, Neji and Hinata would take over fighting, however, with the big team, the chance that everyone will be disabled at once decreases. Since these bandits haven't used any jutsu themselves, taijutsu seems to be a valid response. But I want them alive, so no killing them, Sasuke."

The Uchiha scowled. "I had no plans to," he retorted, darkly. "What makes you think I was?"

"Nothing." Tsunade's eyebrow arched up as she observed the other's angered glare. "Just some precautionary advice." Her eyes closed tightly for a moment. "It's going to take everything I have not to do hit them into the Land of Earth the moment I see them, so let's not tempt me. No killing them at all, understood?"

Sasuke growled, but before he could say anything else, Tsunade's voice echoed throughout the room, "We'll go over the rest of the details later. For now, everyone out. As I said earlier, I don't want him too riled up. Naruto needs rest."

Disappointment filtered through Naruto as he sat back up, watching sadly as his team said goodbye cheerfully, except Sasuke, who simply nodded and muttered, "Later." Despite all the taunting that had occurred, he had not wanted to see them leave. It had been so long since he had been with his team.

And every time he thought about them during the five days he only saw Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune, a faint feeling of loss always flared up. Their presence eased that feeling, but now it came back as he watched them leave.

Naruto frowned. He had been told he had hallucinated over his friends, seeing them when they had not been there. His time between the ambush and waking up in Konoha Hospital, he barely recalled. The only things he could remember was vague images of dark forest, seeing his friends again and disappointment over the fact they kept disappearing on him.

_Guess that was me hallucinating, _he thought, sighing. _Maybe that's why I'm feeling this sense of loss? I...I really can't imagine losing them..._

Feeling a fresh wave of sadness, he turned to see Tsunade stepping out the door, but, surprising, she stopped. Her stern look dissolved into a fond expression and she faced him again, returning to a strict demeanor. "I don't want you leaving that bed even once, Naruto! Regardless of what it is, no matter what you may feel, you will not leave that bed, do you understand that?"

Inwardly, he groaned. _Man...Old Lady Tsunade is so brutal when it comes to this!_ "Yeah," he responded, lowering his head, "I understand."

He looked back up to see the Hokage nodding and leaving down the hall, leaving the door open. Puzzled by this action, he kept staring until a new person stepped into the door...and the sight of his new visitor caused a grin to quickly overcome his features. "Hinata!"

She stood there, her head lowered, dressed in a simple dark blue pants, a green short jacket and white shirt. Naruto wanted to jump out of his bed to go greet her, but remembering the last glare from Tsunade made him pause and he waited for her to walk over to the free chair.

He felt a loss for words at seeing his girlfriend after all this time, the first time since he left for his mission to retrieve Shijimi's necklace. A fresh sense of loss washed over him, causing him to fall quiet and his face to fall. "Are..." he started, hesitantly, "is everything all right, Hinata?"

"Yes," she replied, subdued, "I'm fine." Slowly, her head came up and, for the first time, Naruto saw her eyes, shining with tears as if almost to spill over at any given moment. "Are you? Everyone's been so worried. Sakura-san's been keeping us informed about your...your condition..." Her eyes lowered a bit, taking in his still bandaged state, from his healing shoulder to the scars that had formed on his chest.

Nodding, Naruto bit his lip, hating to see Hinata like this, so upset over him. Acting cheerful, positive or saying a bunch of bandits would never take him out would never work like it did on his other friends since she always perceived him differently. _What do I do? I want this to be happy!_ He frowned as Hinata attempted to smile, but tears slipped out onto her cheeks. _This is the first time we've been together since I left on the mission._

Briefly, he thought about giving her the pearl necklace to cheer her up. At the very least, it would give them something to talk about instead of his injuries. _But I wanted to save that for our date! If I give it to her now, I won't have it then...so do I give up the anniversary surprise or do I find some other way to cheer her up?_

Trying to ponder over what he should do, he glanced back at Hinata, who was rubbing her eyes to get rid of her tears. _What do I do? I've got to think of something... The necklace would be a nice distraction, but...wait? Where are they, anyway?_ he mused, realizing he had not seen his pack he had stored the gift in. Tsunade had told him they had taken his backpack where he kept Shijimi's necklace, so she could receive her package, but had not said anything about his other pack.

Hinata brought her hands down, seemingly calming down a little, and Naruto suddenly noticed something sparkle around her neck. A necklace... _Huh?_ He leaned over a little because he was sure his mind was playing tricks on him. That could not be... There was no way...

"Uh...Naruto-kun?" questioned Hinata as she stared at him curiously.

_Is that...? No way..._ "Uh, Hinata?" he asked, almost timidly, causing mild surprise in her, "What...what's that you're wearing?"

Following to where he was pointing, she blinked and took out the necklace...a simple string of pearls...light purple pearls! "This...you gave it to me," she replied, her dejected voice lowering.

However, Naruto could barely pay attention to that, unfortunately. What concerned him currently was Hinata having his gift well before he had originally planned to give them to her...and he had no idea when! Blinking, shock and confusion plastered all over his face, his hand shook as he kept pointing at the necklace. "I...I..." he stuttered. "When? I gave you them when?"

Now, Hinata looked confused as well as sad. She glanced to him and then to the necklace as if unsure what he could be talking about. "When..." she paused, biting her lip, "when you came back...with Neji-niisan and the others that went looking for you..."

Finding he had given her the necklace right as he was brought back, with no memory of it at all, was the final straw. "What?" he screamed, causing Hinata to jump up in her chair. Naruto immediately flung himself back lying on his bed, covering his face with his hands in what he considered was his most idiotic thing he had ever done. _I can't believe it! I gave her the necklace! How out of my mind was I that the first thing I do when I get back was give Hinata the necklace I had planned to give for our anniversary? I'm so stupid!_

"Uh...Naruto-kun?"

Naruto took his hands off his face and glanced over at Hinata. In his mind, he kept beating himself up over his actions, but the sight of her gazing at him worriedly, her hands still touching the necklace, made him give up his mental bashing himself senseless round. "Is...everything...all right?" she asked, quietly. "You're really upset over something..."

Sighing, Naruto sat back up. "Well, see...the thing is..." he started, wearily, figuring he needed to explain his actions, "I had planned to give you that necklace...at our anniversary date we had planned...I was going to surprise you with them."

Hinata looked at the pearls again. "They were a surprise...for our anniversary?"

"Yeah." Naruto shook his head. "I really wanted to see your face when I gave them to you, but I guess it doesn't matter now..." He felt horrible over losing that chance. _I had planned it so well, too. Had our date all planned out and then the necklace came in and I figured how to surprise her with them..._ He hung his head, feeling hopelessly idiotic in a way he knew Sasuke would rib him over if his rival knew. _I'm so stupid..._

"Here..."

His eyes widened as he caught sight of her outstretched hand, holding the pearls she had taken off her neck. Her face remained sadden as she took his hand and let the necklace slip into them. Naruto just stared, unsure exactly what to say, unsure of what was going on. "Uh? Hinata?" he asked, puzzled. "Why are you giving me the necklace back?"

"You wanted to give them to me properly at our date," she replied, nervously playing with the edges of her jacket, "so now you can."

Naruto gazed at the pearls bunched up in his hand and then to Hinata, who he had not seen upset in so long. Shifting the necklace in his hands, the feeling of loss suddenly surfaced within him and he still failed to understand why, of all times, he felt this way. He knew it had something to do with what he failed to remember, but briefly, he wondered... _Did this feeling of loss...is it the reason why I gave Hinata the pearls?_ "What happened?" he whispered and, as they met each other's eyes, he added on, "What happened when I came back?"

Only silence answered him, but then slowly, Hinata started speaking, her voice on the brink of shaking, "When I saw first saw you, you were unconscious and bandaged up. I could tell how bad it was." She clutched the cloth of her pants, her eyes tearing up again. Naruto took his free hand and held one of hers, hoping the small contact would soothe her troubled mind. "Sasu - suke-kun was examining you with his sharingan and Sakura-chan was talking to Ino and I...I was staring at you, I couldn't think of anything else!"

She shook her head. This time a few tears escape and Naruto squeezed her hand again, not speaking just yet, afraid his voice would break her down. "And then...I said your name and you...you wo -woke up. You were dazed...said my name and - and raised your hand. You touched my cheek..."

Every word, every tear had began to stab at Naruto, fresh pain that had nothing to do with his healing wounds. Half of him wanted to stop her, tell her it did not matter anymore, hold her as much as he could given he was confided to his bed.

But he let her go on, squeezing her hand tighter and tighter, hoping that small comfort was giving her all the strength she needed.

Hinata wiped her eyes. "I tried to console you, telling you it was okay, that you were back home. Then you smiled..." Naruto suddenly felt confused. The way she said the word smile, it was almost like something awful had happened. Something dreadful. "You said, you said I was real..." she sobbed, "like I had been...like I had been a illusion or something!"

As Hinata cried more freely, the image of his friends coming and going, fading away and the sense of loss, came to his mind, the few things he could recall after the ambush. Naruto blinked, feeling somewhat bewildered. _I wanted to confirm she was real...that's why I'm having these feelings...I guessed I kept seeing my friends, but they were never there..._

He felt another pain in his chest, similar to one over loss he had been feeling for awhile now. His friends, Team 7, Hinata, all of them were very important to him. For him to hallucinating that all of them would disappear like that and leaving him alone...now he understood...

That fear, his worst fear, had been brought to life.

"And then," continued Hinata, not noticing his preoccupied state, "you gave me the necklace, saying they were for our date." She took a few deep breaths, wiping away her tears, but still looked very saddened. "I don't know what happened to you," she said, her voice sounding more calm now, "Kiba-kun and Neji-niisan couldn't tell me everything, only that they found you hurt, didn't recognized them and you kept seeing Sasuke-kun. I guess...I guess maybe you saw me, too..."

Naruto was lost in thought. He stared down at the pearls, remembering how much he wanted to give them to Hinata, remembering how eager he had been for their date. He always wanted to celebrate things with her. Little things, big things, being with her made him feel so...alive! And he kept trying to make everything special for them because he loved to see her smile, loved to see her laugh, loved being with her.

All his friends, his team, her, he loved being with them all...and each way was different, special in its own way.

But now, remembering the pain of loss, remembering the hazy memories of his friends coming and fading away, hearing how dazed he had been coming home, so relieved that Hinata had been real, he had given her the gift he had planned for their anniversary date.

Now he wanted something differently for that date. He still wanted to give her the pearls, but he wanted things differently now...

"Here."

Hinata looked confused as he held out the necklace for her to take, his face composed and serious. "But...Naruto-kun? I thought...I thought you wanted to surprise me?"

"I did. In the beginning, I did. I don't remember much about when I was hallucinating." He gazed downward, seeing it all go through his head again, the pain of loss flaring up like a candle that would not be put out. "All that comes to mind is seeing you and the others, but some times, you would fade out and I would feel some pain at losing all of you. I'm still feeling it, even now."

"Oh...Naruto-kun..." Tears ran down her cheek again. "I knew...something...was wrong... I promise...I'll be here, I won't disappear on you, Naruto-kun," she vowed, shaking her head as if to enforce the point.

And seeing her like that made Naruto's eyes lighten up. That reassurance she would be with him and not fade away just warmed him up, so different from the ice cold pain of loss. "That really cheers me up, Hinata," he said, a smile gracing his features.

"But do you really not want to wait to give them to me, through?" She carefully picked up the necklace as if unsure of his actions. "I don't mind it at all. I really don't."

"Nah!" He finally felt cheerful, really upbeat for the first time since he had woken up. A feeling he normally would never feel in a hospital! "We'll still go on our date and I'll give you some flowers or maybe a potted plant from my garden!" That was a good idea. They both loved flowers, after all, and his mood gave away to a bright smile plastered onto his face. "I guess the gift doesn't matter, right? As long as we're together, right? Everything will be fine, Hinata...do you mind that?"

"No, I - I don't...it doesn't matter." She rubbed her eyes, looking a bit more cheerful in spite of her struggle to keep herself from crying again. "As long as I'm with you, Naruto-kun, nothing matters."

A fond smile appearing on his face, he took one of her hands, finding a sense of joy as he caressed it softly. "Yeah," he replied, his eyes half open as he stared at their entwined hands, "just being with you, Hinata, that's the best gift of all."

Lifting his head up, grinning at her affectionately, he found her staring at him for a bit. Then, suddenly, without warning, Hinata threw herself onto him, startling Naruto as she cried onto his left, uninjured, shoulder. A bit worried over her, he tried to reassure her by whispering everything was okay and she just nodded and said she knew that through her tears.

And after she had calmed down, Naruto moved over and she crawled onto his bed and they sat there, silently, Hinata's head on his left shoulder and Naruto's resting on her head, content to just be in each other's presence until time for her to leave.

It had taken awhile, but for the first time since he had awakened, the pain in Naruto's heart that came up every time he thought of his precious people fading away forever had finally disappeared.

The End

* * *

*comes out of hiding* Did I fool you? Likely not, but oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.

Okay, so I lied about people not being happy about the ending! XD At least I think most are happy. Not sure if I can write a sad ending; I'm more than willing to beat up on characters during a fic, but I like to see them put back together, happily, in the end. :) Seriously, it's a lot more fun to drag stuff like this out. ^_^ Can't develop a character if I'm not willing to break an egg, right?

I hope I got the info on the bandits clear enough. My fic only focused on Naruto, his struggle to get home and the others as they dealt with his absence and coming home. Maybe if I were writing a longer fic, I would have dived into the bandits more than I did, but since I had no plans to, I tried to give out all the must-have info to explain Naruto's situation and how he got into it. I had envisioned the bandits to be well coordinated in order to go after ninja teams, mostly thanks to the missing-nin scienist. I mean, if they were just plain old thieves, they would have never stood a chance!

You'll notice in the first chapter, a few bandits found out about Naruto because he stopped by a jewelry shop and mentioned he was on a mission, but once they realized who they were dealing with, their attacks became sloppy. They were more interested in getting away than stealing at that point and using their chemical and exploding tags provided a means for their escape. I doubt Naruto would be concerned by any poison; after all, he's got Kyuubi chakra and Sage chakra to keep him alive and, like in the Wave arc, he would just take a kunai to get it out. Of course, exploding tags rendered him unconscious and by the time he woke up, the chemical had taken its effect.

So I hope I conveyed it well. I don't like explaining things like this, but I always worry if I've explained it all right. Maybe one day I'll do a multi-chapter fic so I can dive into villains like that...?

Nah! I have no energy for it!

Thanks for reading - NessaMoon


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